Vehicle signal



Sept. 12, 1933. ,c. T. Lupwlc; 1,926,105

VBHICLE SIGNAL 'Filed Feb. 15. 1952 INVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 12, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This inventionrelates to an electrically operated signal device indicative of a reverse or backward movement of a self-propelled vehicle.

An object oi the invention is to provide an improved means for operating a signal of the kind stated whereby the backward movement of the vehicle will always put the signal into operation unless a cut-out switch has been operated to prevent current being supplied to the signal.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for automatically operating the signal in an intermittent manner thereby more eectively attracting the attention of pedestrians .or other persons to the backward movement of the vehicle which is supplied with the signal.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a signal to indicate backward movement of the vehicle, which is adapted to be operated by a circuit provided with a plurality of interrupting devices, one of which 'may be operated 'by one moving part of the vehicle and another-of which may be operated by another moving part of the vehicle, whereby if it is not convenient to attach the interrupting device to one of the parts of the vehicle it may be attached to another part thereof, thus adapting the appliance for use in combination with a great variety of standard makes o! automobiles.

Other objectsy advantages and features of the invention may hereinafter appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawing which illustrates what is at present deemed to be a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the chassis of the vehicle showing two of the circuit interrupting devices provided by the invention applied to the vehicle.

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail illustrating one of the interrupting devices on a larger scale than that shown in Fig. l. The line of section is indicated by the line 2-2 on Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1, illustrating the construction of another of the circuit interrupting devices.

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the electrical connections diagrammatically, and also illustrating in a somewhatdiagrammatic manner the means operated by the rearward movement of the vehicle to intermittently actuate the signal.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the vehicle chassis 5 may be of well known construction, the same being shown provided with the front ground wheels 6, the rear ground wheels 7, rear axle 8, differential gearing 9 and propeller shaft 10.

Describing in detail the interrupting devices which are designated in a general wayin Fig. l by the numbers 11 and 12, to the propeller shaft is secured a multiple cam 13 which desirably is provided with the four cam elements 14 which are circumferentially spaced around the shaft 10, preferably at points equidistant from eachother,

(Cl. Zoll-30) and which, as illustrated, gyrate in an anti-clockwise manner when the vehicle advances, and in the opposite direction, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4 when the vehicle is moving rearwardly. The cam operated bell crank lever is provided with the arms 21 and 22, said lever being pivotally supported at 23 at the juncture of said arms.

The arm 21 has rotatably mounted thereon near its outer extremity the antifriction roller 25 which is positioned to be intermittently engaged by the cams 14, whether the shaft 10 rotates in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. Said bell crank lever is provided with resilient means or a spring device whereby it is yieldingly held in an intermediate or neutral position, as indicated by the lowest broken line representation of the roller 25 thereof in Fig. 4. Said yielding means is illustrated as consisting of an upper spiral spring -26 and a lower spiral spring 27, each of said springs being at one end connected with a finger or extension 26a: with which the bell crank lever is provided near its pivotal mounting. The other ends of these springs are anchored to the supporting member in any convenient manner.

The arm 22 of the bell crank lever has a finger 30 pivoted thereto by means of a pin 3l. Said nger 30 is normally held in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4 by means of gravity aided by a tension spring 33 which holds the tail piece 30:1: of said finger against a stop 34. Said finger 30 is constructed and arranged to repeatedly operate the circuit closing arm 37 when the shaft 10 is rotated in a clockwise manner as viewed in Fig. 4, the ringer at such times brushing across the free end of the arm 37 without effecting the operation of said arm when the bell crank arm 21 moves from left to right as viewed in Fig. 4; but when said arm 22 moves from right to left because of the clockwise movement of the cam elements 14, said finger 30 will swing said arm 37 away from its stop 37:1: in opposition to the spring 37a and will thereby repeatedly bring the contact 37o into engagement with the stationary Contact 40 as indicated by the dotted line position of the arm 37.

Speaking of the propeller shaft 10 as viewed in Fig. 4, the parts are so constructed and arranged that when the vehicle is moved backwardly said shaft rotates in a right hand manner, and when said vehicle is advancing the shaft rotates in a left hand or anti-clockwise manner. While said shaft is rotating in the right hand direction the cam elements 14 repeatedly move the roller 25 from the lower broken line position to the full line position, said roller being retracted from the full line position to the lower broken line position each time it is released from `one of 'the cams moving as just stated. This cam actuated movement of the roller and lever to which it is attached causes the inger 30 to repeatedly engage the free end portion of Ithe contact carrying member 37 and thereby lift said member to complete the circuit as indicated,

'reaches the moment it is released from a cam element 14. Thereupon. the spring 26 retracts the lever sufficiently to bring the roller 25 to the neutral position where its retrograde movement is checked by the other spring 27.

. While the vehicle is advancing the cams 14 are repeatedly contacting with the anti-friction wheel or roller 25 in such a manner as to move said roller from the lower broken line position shown in Fig. 4 (which position corresponds to the upper broken line position of arm 22 in this view) to a position farther to the left, thus repeatedly bringing the arm 22 down from its upper broken line position to the lower broken line position shown. Moving the bell crank lever as just described obviously will not affect the circuit through the signal element S.

Describing briefly the electrical connections which are controlled by the mechanical parts already recited, said electrical connections include a wire 41 which leads from the contact 40 to a manually operable switch 42 which is normally in the closed position but which is held open by the driver when it is desired to render the signal S inoperative. Switch 42 is preferably supported upon the dashboard D. From said switch another wire 43 leads to the battery 44 which is connected by a wire 45 to the ground 46.

Describing the wiring for the horn, light or other signal element S, the wire 57 which at times supplies said horn with current connects with a stationary contact 56. At times current is supplied to this contact and wire through the movable contact 51 which is pivotally supported between its ends and which when attracted at one end by the solenoid has its other or contact making end moved against the opposition of the spring 51s thereby completing the circuit through the wires 52, contacts 51 and 56 and wire 57 to the horn or other signal element S. The solenoid 50 is provided with a ground wire 54 which leads to the ground 55. From the signal element S leads a wire 60 which is connected with the ground 61.

The solenoid 50 is quickly operated by closing the circuit between the wires 57 and 54, thus causing the armature of the solenoid to press the contact arm 51 which in turn opens the circuit between the wires 57 and 54. The successive opening and closing of the circuits through the operation of the solenoid thus causes an intermittent warning by means of the signal S.

The bell crank lever which has been described, and the operating means therefor, is designed to form a part of the circuit breaking device 12 of Fig. l. In a general way, the circuit breaking device 11 of Fig. 1 operates in the same way but the latter circuit breaking device, instead of being actuated by cam elements 14, is actuated by the projections or striking elements which are carried by the ground wheel 7 with which the device 1l is associated. Said circuit breaking device 11 is illustrated in Fig. 2 where it will be seen that the box or base plate B1 is supported by the bracket or arm 57 secured to the rear axle 8.

I claim:

1. A contact opening and closing device comprising a stationary contact, a switch arm to cooperate therewith, yielding means normally holding said switch arm in spaced relation to said contact, a support, a lever which between its ends is pivotally @mounted upon said support, a tripping finger to cooperate with said switch arm to move the latter into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, said finger being pivotally mounted upon said lever at one side of its pivotal support, a shaft having a radially projecting element to act upon said lever at the other side of its pivotal support, and yielding means normally maintaining said lever in a position wherein it is operable by said radially projecting element whether the latter is rotated in a clockwise oranti-clockwise direction, the rotation of rsaid element in one direction causing a repeated circuit closing of said switch arm by means of said nger, and the rotation of said element in the opposite direction causing only an idle or non-operative movement of said lever and of the finger carried thereby.

2. A contact opening and closing device comprising a stationary contact, a switch arm to cooperate therewith, yielding means normally holding said switch arm in spaced relation to said contact, a support, a lever which between its ends is pivotally mounted upon said support, a tripping finger to cooperate with said switch arm to move the latter into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, said finger being pivotally mounted upon said lever at one side of its pivotal support, said lever having at the other side of its pivotal support a cam operable part, a shaft having a radially projecting cam element to act upon said cam operable part, and yielding means normally maintaining said lever in a position wherein said cam operable partis operable by said cam element whether the latter is rotated in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, the rotation of said cam element in one direction causing a repeated circuit closing of said switch arm by means of said finger, and the rotation of said cam element in the opposite direction causing only an idle or non-operative movement of said lever and of the finger carried thereby.

3. A contact opening and closing device comprising a stationary contact, a switch arm to cooperate therewith, yielding means normally holding said switch arm in spaced relation to said contact, a support, a lever which between its ends is pivotally mounted upon said support, a tripping finger to cooperate with said switch arm to move the latter into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, said finger being pivotally mounted upon said lever at one side of its pivotal support, a shaft having a radially projecting element to act upon said lever at the other side of its pivotal support, and a spring device normally maintaining said lever in a position wherein it is operable by said radially projecting element whether the latter is rotated in a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction, the rotation of said element in one direction causing a repeated circuit closing of said switch arm by means of said fini; r, the rotation of said element in the opposite irection causin'T an idle or non-operative movement ci' said lever and of the carried thereby.

CHARLES T. LUDWIG. 

